CSEA

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

CSEA Unit 7400 Joins FSW Rally Against the County Stalemate!

On Tuesday night, CSEA members joined with FSW members to rally against the County’s current stance of stalemate with both unions, which will not accept County proposed contracts that have extreme health insurance costs with little to no equivalent raise in salary. Both unions have requested the CountyExecutive and the Legislators change how their appointed administrators are conducting negotiations and force them to work to get a fair deal agreeable to both sides.

CSEA members from the County Probation Department spoke and outlined the importance of their and all of their follow members’ work, especially to the public safety of the community. They explained that they have continued to work with ever increasing caseloads while they have received no raise. They do their jobs with respect and requested that the Legislature do the same, join with the workforce to seek a contract respectable to workers and responsible to the public.

CSEA Unit 7400 President Cris Zaffuto spoke once again to the legislative body, reminding them that she has been at meetings for 3 years explaining the value of the workforce, reasons for a fair contract and requesting they use their influence to work for a positive agreement. She asked them why a chosen few are given raises and upgrades but that the bargaining unit is left “high and dry”. She also questioned what action they would take if it was their personal budgets at play and how they would feel if they went years without any raises. In commenting on how the situation is for the membership, Zaffuto said, “This isn’t a choice between getting a second job and telling your kid that they can’t go to soccer club, it’s trying to fit in a third job and telling your kid you can’t help them afford college”.

Contract Update: The CSEA negotiating team recently met with the County, at the County’s request. The team thought it meant that the County was willing to commit to a real agreement but the meeting quickly turned into the same old game. Despite having no contract, CSEA is protecting benefits and advocating for CSEA members throughout the County. We will never let the County forget that “MonroeCounty works because we do”.

The CSEA Unit 7400 Leadership thanks all members for their continued involvement and will continue to keep all members up to date on the contract situation. Reminder: Get up to date info at the Unit 7400 Blog at http://unit7400.blogspot.com